A/N: So I started this chapter and decided it was complete and utter crap. I scrapped it and I am happier with this one. I hope you guys like it. Thanks to everyone who alerted and made this story a favorite after only one chapter. :) Thanks to winchesterxgirl, hockeygrl125, shawnajeanne, xxkpxx, Beccatdemon13, anonymous, PrettyatMidnight, and Black Thorns Entangled K for the encouraging reviews. Oh and Nic's picture is on my profile. On with the story.
Disclaimer: Yeah, pretty obvious what belongs to me and what doesn't.
"And you are?" His smirk never faltered as he stared her down. She couldn't find her voice. The being standing before her was breathtaking. He licked his lips as his eyes roamed over her. "Don't worry sweetheart. Most women are speechless in my presence." Yes, very good-looking. Now if only he would keep his mouth shut. She yanked her hand out of his and opened her mouth to snap back at him when an annoying voice cut her off.
"Reid!" Riley cringed. Reid stood up and looked behind her.
"Aubrey," he said coolly. His face had gone blank and Riley wondered if he detested her step-sister as much as she did. She came to stand next to Riley.
"I've been looking for you." She batted her eyelashes. Riley was becoming nauseous. She couldn't believe how desperate Aubrey was and she was only seventeen. He leaned back against the railing and shrugged, his eyes staying firmly on Riley.
"Came out for a smoke and to talk to…" He lifted his eyebrow in question. Riley couldn't take her eyes off of him, but she didn't miss the angered look Aubrey shot her. Apparently he hadn't either because his smirk reappeared and was a bit more cocky.
"Riley," Aubrey said as she quickly moved between her and Reid. She was faced with demon now. The look on her face was priceless. She kept her voice calm, but Riley knew she was seething. That definitely made this night better. "Isn't Trevor your escort tonight? I mean you have never been to a high society dinner before." Then she lowered her voice, but Riley knew Reid had heard it as well. "We really don't need any embarrassments tonight." Riley clenched her jaw. She was about to give Aubrey a major embarrassment by beating the shit out of her. Lady-like qualities be damned.
"Trevor Galloway?," Reid asked. Her eyes must've been playing tricks on her because she could have sworn she saw disappointment flash across his face before he schooled it once more. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she nodded.
"My brother," she said and cleared her throat. His face lit up as he put two and two together.
"So you're the elusive Galloway daughter."
"I'm not elusive. I just haven't had any reason to visit."
"Yes." Aubrey turned to face Reid. "She'd rather spend her time in Redneck U.S.A. running around with beasts instead of spending time in civilized society." Aubrey laughed, but the look on Reid's face clearly indicated he didn't find it funny. She stopped abruptly and plastered on her innocent look. "Riley dear don't you think you should be heading back inside. I'm sure Trevor is worried about you." Riley was about to reply when Reid pushed away from the railing.
"I'll escort you inside. You seem to have a bit of trouble walking." She glared at him and Aubrey's mouth hung open. Obviously this wasn't going the way she had hoped.
"I can walk just fine thank you." Riley turned to walk away, but Reid caught her arm and looped it through his.
"I'm sure you can, just not in those shoes." He smirked and started to walk towards the doors. Aubrey let out a frustrated growl and stomped ahead of them. Reid laughed. "That girl will never learn." Riley looked at him questioningly. "She's been after me since her freshman year. Too bad for her I prefer true blondes, not peroxide ones." He smirked at her and bit his lips. Riley easily picked up on his hint. Now that she thought of it, Aubrey had bleached her hair. It used to be a deep red like her father's and now it was almost a platinum blonde like her mother's. It really didn't suit her either. They made their way into the lounge. Riley looked around for Trevor, but couldn't see him. She let Reid lead her through the crowd.
"Garwin." She turned to her left to see Trevor making his way towards them. "May I ask what exactly you are doing with my little sister?"
"I was simply returning her safely to your side. She seems to have a bit of a problem of falling at my feet and I didn't want her to get hurt." Riley glared at Reid as he simply smirked. That arrogant, little…. Trevor laughed.
"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble Garwin, but my sister has a slight problem when walking in anything over an inch." They both laughed. Riley balled up her fist and punched Trevor in the arm. "Hey!! That's not very lady-like Riles."
"Screw lady-like, I'm going to kick your ass if you don't stop making fun of me." Trevor scoffed.
"Riley, Riley, Riley. You've never been able to kick my ass and your never will. It's one of the perks of being the older brother." Reid chuckled as Riley scowled. Trevor just smiled. Oh it was on.
"Riley, may I speak with you for a moment?" Riley looked over at Trevor. He gave her a sympathetic smile as she felt the bite of acrylic nails in her arm. She turned to Tanya. "If you gentlemen will excuse us, I just need to have a word with my daughter."
"Step-daughter," Riley snapped. The grip tightened and she knew if she pressed anymore Tanya would draw blood. From the corner of her eye she saw Trevor take a gulp of his drink. Reid quickly released her arm. Both of them were far more afraid of Tanya than they were of Riley, that much was obvious. Tanya smiled and started pulling Riley towards the door.
"We'll be back in a moment," she said. They were out the door, but that wasn't enough for Tanya. Oh no, there were still ears present. She pulled her all the way into the kitchen. As soon as they entered most of the staff vacated the room. They didn't want to be in the vicinity of a Tanya Galloway meltdown. Tanya's fake smile came off and she turned her venomous glare to Riley.
Riley didn't quite understand what her dad saw in Tanya. She was a gold digger and obviously so was her daughter. Riley also didn't see how her dad could find Tanya remotely attractive. She tanned way too much and her skin took on the appearance of that lady from There's Something About Mary. She had also obviously had work done. Her skin was far too tight; Riley wondered how anybody could read any emotion from her face at all. To top it off, she had to have had implants as they were far too big for as skinny as she was.
"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" And here was the Wicked Witch of the East. Now where was that Dorothy? Riley cast her eyes upward to look for the house. Tanya didn't like that.
"I'm talking to you, you little bitch." The nails now bit into her chin as Tanya yanked her face back to her. "If you think that you are going to ruin this for my daughter you have another thing coming." Tanya let go of her and stepped back. She crossed her arms and popped her hip out to the side.
"Ruin what exactly? Your little meat market? Hate to tell you this, but, except for my brother, I could care less about any of those people out there." She looked Riley up and down, sneering at her.
"Oh sweetie you got that all wrong. Those people out there could care less about you. You are nothing to them, just some pathetic little girl with no sense of class from Podunk, Oklahoma. The only reason any of them are showing any interest in you at all is because of your father. And the Garwin boy…" She shrugged her shoulder and snorted. "Well let's just say he has only one thing on his mind most of the time and I highly doubt he would stoop as low as a bottom feeder when there are far better caches out there."
"Like Aubrey," Riley sneered. Tanya shrugged and smiled.
"Well Aubrey does have class and she knows how to act like a lady. Maybe if you hadn't been raised by roughnecks you would be a little more lady-like. I bet your mother is rolling over in her grave…" Riley took a menacing step forward and Tanya backed up into the counter.
"Don't you dare talk about my mother. She had far more class than you and that spoiled little brat of yours. She was a real woman and my dad loved her more than he could ever possibly love you." Tanya schooled her face back to an angry scowl and moved to the side.
"Yes well she's dead and he's moved on to better things." She made her way towards the door. Just before she walked out she turned to give one last parting shot. "You know you really don't belong here Riley dear. You're just a simple little girl trying to play with the grown ups. If you're not careful, you'll end up hurt." With that she turned and walked out the door. Riley slumped against the counter. She knew she was out of her element. She didn't need Tanya to tell her that.
"Whew, that woman is in serious need of a surgeon to remove that stick up her ass." Riley was startled by the voice and when she jumped she lost her balance and fell on her butt.
"Ow," she mumbled. A hand reached out in front of her. She followed it up an arm, over a shoulder to a mane of dark brown hair. The hair framed a slightly tanned face with rich brown eyes. Oh this is just fantastic.
"Sorry about that," he said with a charming smile. "I hope you won't report me. I could get in big trouble for injuring the guest." She sat there for a minute just staring at him before her brain finally kicked in. Shaking her head she smiled back at him.
"It's not your fault. It's these damn shoes." She pointed at them.
"Hmm, I think I read an article about killer high heels once before. Very dangerous creatures. May I?" He motioned to them and she nodded in surprise. He crouched down and lifted her foot up a little to examine it. He hmmed and got really close as if he was truly scrutinizing it. Riley giggled and then slapped her hand over her mouth. What the hell? She never giggled. He looked back up to her and smiled. "Yep, definitely killer heels. Fortunately for you there is a remedy." She quirked her eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
"Mmhmm." He slowly began to slip off her shoe. Sitting it off to the side, he moved to the next one. After removing both shoes, he stood up and extended his hand to her one more time. She accepted and he pulled her up. "See all cured."
"Well thank you Doctor…"
"Nicholai Mitchell." He extended his hand once more and she shook it.
"Well, thank you Doctor Mitchell."
"You're quite welcome Miss…"
"Riley."
"Does that come with a last name?" Riley really didn't want to give it to him. If she did he might run in the other direction. It wasn't a good idea to hit on the bosses daughter no matter where you were.
"Galloway," she replied softly.
"Ah, so you have to deal with that," he indicated over his shoulder," on a regular basis." She chuckled. At least somebody else could see how much of a terror Tanya was.
"Not really. I've been avoiding it since I was ten. Unfortunately now that I moved to Boston I have no choice." He nodded his head in understanding, then he snapped his fingers.
"You know what I've got the perfect thing." He guided her to a barstool and went to the other side of the counter. She watched as he grabbed a tumbler and began mixing an array of alcohol. He finished and set it in front of her. "My specialty. Guaranteed to make dealing with evil step-mothers and killer high heels bearable." She looked at it.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?"
"Now why would I do that?"
"To seduce me?"
"Are you seducible?" She shook her head. "I didn't think so. No worries, it's nothing strong. Just some Bacardi, orange juice, and tropical Gatorade."
"What's it called?"
"Tarzan." Riley looked at him. Oh he could definitely pull of a Tarzan. He smirked as if he read her thoughts and she blushed.
"I'm not twenty-one." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Doesn't really matter to anyone here. I'm pretty sure your step-sister had a drink in her hand."
"I'm not my step-sister."
"I know." She eyed him for a moment. Ah, what the hell. She picked up the glass and took a small sip. Her eyebrows shot up. It actually tasted really good. She couldn't even taste the alcohol. His smirk widened at her expression. He watched as she took another drink. "You know your step-mother was right?" He turned to the side and started to wipe off some of the glasses. She looked at him in surprise. First he was ridiculing Tanya and now he was siding with her.
"You don't belong in their world." She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but he quickly cut her off. "You're too good for them. They can only hope to be like you." She ducked her head to hide her smile as she blushed once more. This guy was definitely smooth.
"So Nicholai…"
"Please you can call me Nic."
"So Nic, so you work these events often?"
"Sometimes. Really I just help my uncle out when he's shorthanded. It's some money while I'm at school."
"Oh. Where do you go?"
"Harvard." Riley sighed.
"Does everybody go to Harvard?"
"I take it your not a big fan."
"No it's not that. My dad went to Harvard and my brother is in his final year."
"So I take it I'll see you around campus." The look she gave him was clearly saying no. "Or not." She shook her head.
"No, I got a full scholarship to Boston University."
"Why do you need a scholarship? I'm sure your dad would pay for you. He is after all Maxwell Galloway." She chuckled.
"No, he wouldn't. He thinks Harvard is the only school worth going to."
"So he's not too happy with your decision."
"Nope," she said popping the 'p.' She took another drink.
"That must suck." She shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm kind of used to him not being around anyway so what's the difference." Nic shook his head.
"So you don't have anybody in your family that shows you any care."
"That's not true. My brother Trevor and I are very close. He's the main reason I applied to Boston U. I wanted to be near him again. I also have my grandpa. He's raised me since I was five." He nodded his head.
"In Oklahoma right?" She looked at him and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I overheard your step-mother. It wasn't intentional," he quickly said. She smiled at his worried look. She figured she could cut him some slack. He was cute after all.
"Yeah, in Oklahoma." He smiled, relieved that she wasn't angry about his eavesdropping. He was about to say something else when the kitchen door opened.
"There you are." Trevor walked in followed by Reid and another guy. He had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and hazel-green eyes. She figured it must've been one of Trevor's friends.
"I was beginning to think the Queen Bitch had killed you and done away with your body."
"Sorry to disappoint brother dear, but I'm still alive and well."
"Damn I don't get my apartment back."
"Nope." She smiled at him. She noticed Reid glaring behind her. "This is Nic. He helped me after I busted my ass."
"Well it was my fault. I did startle you."
"I'm sure it was the heels more than you," Trevor said, eyeing his sister and Nic. He had a feeling something might have clicked between the two. He wondered how that would play out as Reid had shown interest in her. After Tanya had dragged her away, Reid was constantly asking questions about her. He didn't quite care for Reid's reputation and he made it clear to the younger man that if he was only looking to make Riley another notch on his bedpost, he would make his life a living hell for the short period of time he had left. It didn't matter to him who his sister decided to date as long as they treated her right.
"Who is this?," Riley asked motioning to the long haired guy. He smirked at her, clearly noting his friend staring down the guy now known as Nic.
"I'm Pogue Parry." He extended his hand and she shook it. He hand a strong grip.
"Nice to meet you. So you're one of Trevor's friends?"
"Not really. We only really meet at these types of dinners and other functions."
"He's my friend." Reid's gaze finally snapped to her and she was left speechless once again. "More like a brother actually. Our families are really close." A throat cleared and Riley turned back to Nic.
"Well, I better get back to work. It was nice to meet all of you, especially you Miss Galloway," he said with a slight nod.
"Please call me Riley."
"Riley," he said softly with a small smile playing on his lips.
"See you around Mic." Riley looked at Reid and noticed his ever increasing glare.
"It's Nic actually." Reid just shrugged and gave him a smug smirk. Riley rolled her eyes. While he was cute, she couldn't believe his attitude to somebody he just met.
"Goodbye Riley." Just then she got an idea.
"Wait." He stopped and turned to her. She grabbed a piece of paper and pen that was lying on the counter and scribbled something down. She hopped off the stool and walked over, placing it in his hand. He smiled as he looked at what was written.
"Maybe we can hangout sometime. You could show me some great places to go in Boston."
"I can definitely do that." His smile widened and his eyes had a little twinkle in them. Trevor looked at them and over to Reid, whose gloved hands were clenched into fists. He was trying very hard to control his emotions, but it was obvious to Trevor that he was fuming. He dropped his chin to his chest and sighed, shaking his head. His sister was obviously going to make life here a bit more interesting. Pogue stifled his laugh as he observed his friend's reaction.
"I'll call you later."
"Okay," she said softly. His smile never left his face as he turned around and headed out the door. She sighed in contentment and turned to face the others that she had almost forgotten where even in the room. She saw Pogue covering his mouth while looking at Reid, clearly trying to hide his smile. Reid's neck was strained as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Trevor just looked at her.
"What?" He raised his eyebrow. "I'm not a little girl anymore Trev. I'm eighteen and I do date." Although the last date she had been on was with Kyle Thompson back in the summer before her accident. That had gone horrible. All he talked about was football. She barely got a word in. It was then she decided that the guys that she went to school with were better off as friends. He just shook his head and decided that it was her life, but he knew he would be there to help her clean up the mess if she needed him to.
"You ready to go? I have to go in early tomorrow for a meeting." She took one last look at Reid and decided to get the hell out of Dodge before the bullets started flying.
"Sure." She had to unpack tomorrow anyway. She bent down, grabbed her shoes, and made her way towards the door. She didn't care if Tanya flipped over her walking barefoot through the hallway. She was tired of the damn things and was ready to go home and crawl into bed. Trevor followed behind, leaving a chuckling Pogue to deal with Reid. If he knew Reid, which he only did a little, he would not give up on Riley, especially now. He had to assuage his bruised ego. Trevor shook his head as he climbed the stairs behind Riley. When Riley told him she was moving here, he thought everything would be like it was back at the ranch. He never had to worry about guys striving for her attention. It just made him realize how much his little sister had grown.